


An Impossible Puzzle

by Cry3TearsLikeJ3T



Category: One Piece
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:34:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26990725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cry3TearsLikeJ3T/pseuds/Cry3TearsLikeJ3T
Summary: Zoro can't read.He never learned as it never felt important to him but now he's a pirate and there's a crew, a name to uphold and a captain he so deeply wants to stay beside. So now Zoro faces this seemingly impossible task of learning on his own for the sake of his own pride and for the young captain he's fallen so hard for.There will be frustration and there will be fluff in Zoro's struggle but it's all worth it if he can find what he's been missing in his lone journey.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Roronoa Zoro
Comments: 7
Kudos: 150





	An Impossible Puzzle

The sun was at it’s peak, there was a gentle warm breeze, and the ocean was calm that day as it gently rocked the Merry from side the side. Nothing was out of the ordinary for once and the Straw Hats were certainly grateful for this as they all enjoyed some well-deserved free time.

Most of the crew enjoyed the peace and quiet on the deck with Nami and Robin sat together, pleasantly chatting away and Usopp tinkering with his gear as usual while Chopper observed, fascinated by the long-nosed pirate’s over the top stories. However, Zoro decided to use his free time to sit at the kitchen table with a newspaper from the last town they visited. He liked to just sit with it open and scan over the jumble of words while that lovesick chef worked away in the background. 

He liked it because it was quiet and he wouldn’t be asked questions because unlike the other crew members, Sanji couldn’t care less about what Zoro was doing or why he chose to do it in the kitchen. They weren’t so immature around each other that they’d pick a fight without a cause, if they could get away without having to speak a word to each other, then that was perfectly fine.

So now it came to _why_ Zoro spent the time he wasn’t sleeping with a newspaper in hand and a blonde idiot in the background. The truth was that Zoro couldn’t understand a damn word in the paper. That was right, the great demon swordsman, Roronoa Zoro, couldn’t read.

There was of course a reason for this, and it was that Zoro had never taken the time to learn as a child, he was far too busy being angry and reckless to do so. He didn’t see why it was so important to read dumb words when all he wanted to do was fight and besides, he could talk just fine so why did it matter if he couldn’t read the written words? It had always been a good enough excuse for Zoro or at least it had been until he met Luffy and joined his crew.

It was at this point in Zoro’s life that he began to feel true embarrassment over this fact because it finally hit him that he was nineteen and he still couldn’t read the most basic of words. And it wasn’t a sudden realisation but after meeting Nami and seeing her level of intellect with maps and research, combined with meeting Robin and seeing the way she held so much knowledge and always had a book in her lap, it slowly but surely built up and began to crush Zoro beneath the heavy weight of humiliation.

There were a few other reasons for Zoro’s sudden change in mindset and why he tried so hard and unsuccessfully to learn to read alone, but there was one that stood above the rest, one that the swordsman tried his best to ignore when possible. That reason was the captain himself and it was because Zoro had fallen harder than he thought possible for him. It wasn’t exactly love at first sight but more love at first touch. 

That electrifying feeling that Zoro felt whenever Luffy touched him, so carefree and full of affection, was what made the first mate’s heart race and made his body jolt to life. And while he didn’t have his hopes up for his feelings to be returned, he figured that he could at least up his chances by learning to read, though at this point, there didn’t seem to be much hope as no progress had been made and it frustrated Zoro to no end. Learning to read was like trying to solve an impossible puzzle in Zoro’s mind.

However, just like magic, as these thoughts passed through Zoro’s mind once more, the kitchen door burst open and in marched the crew’s captain.

“Sanji, food!” Luffy exclaimed as he took a seat across from Zoro, who tried his best to keep his eyes on the mixture of letters.

“You’ll have to wait, it’s not done yet,” Sanji replied like he did every day when Luffy waltzed in far too early.

“Aww, how much longer?” Luffy asked with a frown on his face that Zoro found hard to ignore.

“As long as it takes.” 

Luffy then let out a frustrated huff before dropping his head to the table, a hard thud ringing out as it hit the wooden surface. Zoro had always found Luffy’s most childish moments to be cute and it always warmed his heart a little for reasons he’d never understand.

“What’re you reading, Zoro?” Luffy asked, his body suddenly upright and catching Zoro completely off guard.

“What does it look like I’m reading?” Zoro responded, his heart pounding as he tried to deflect the attention. Luffy had a short attention span so he figured he could drive him off swiftly enough if he persisted.

“I know what it is but I wanna know what part,” Luffy replied, his blank gaze not wavering for an instant.

“I’ll let you know when I’m done,” Zoro said, averting his eyes back to the paper. Perfect, Luffy would never remember to ask again later.

“You’ve been at that paper all morning, are you savouring every word or something?” Sanji jumped in, not even bothering to turn away from his cooking as if he wasn’t trying to ruin Zoro’s life by speaking.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you were so interested in me,” Zoro shot back, actually hoping that the blonde would fight back if it would save him from this disastrous moment.  
Unfortunately for Zoro, Sanji was of course completely absorbed by his food and it’s preparation and so his wish wasn’t granted.

“I’m not, I just wanna know why you insist on spending hours in my kitchen with one paper, I mean, anyone else would think you couldn’t read or something.” 

Zoro had hoped that it wasn’t noticeable when he tensed up upon hearing that. He knew Sanji wasn’t being serious, how could he be? There was no way for him, or anybody else, to know. But despite this, he still couldn’t help it when he felt his body freeze.

“It’s none of your damn business,” Zoro muttered before glancing up and seeing that Luffy was still silently watching him, his gaze still peering deeply inside of the swordsman.

“So what are you reading then?” Luffy questioned once more, and that’s when Zoro decided that he’d had enough.

He snapped the paper shut, stood up and left, storming out the kitchen without a word. Zoro passed Nami and Robin, who briefly fell silent as he marched by, as he went to his sacred spot, the crow’s nest. Nobody ever went up there unless it was their turn and fortunately for Zoro, it was nobody’s turn that day.

Once he’d settled down again, he decided he’d try again before he slept. However like usual, he made no progress, and he felt his frustration steadily climbing. Was it supposed to be this hard? How could he spend so much time and effort and still gain nothing from it? Sure, most kids were helped and taught in class but Zoro was practically an adult, surely he could be able to do this on his own, but if that were true, then why couldn’t he?

The first mate spent what felt likes hours, just scanning over the same page over and over again, trying to make connections but all that did was confuse him even more. This was one puzzle that he felt he’d never solve, like he was missing something and so it would never become clear or complete. And it wasn’t long before his head started to become loud and a pounding headache emerged.

Zoro sighed as he dropped the paper to the ground and brought a hand to his forehead. This was just what he needed as the sun began it’s descent. He was losing daylight and yet another day would be lost if he couldn’t get rid of the pain he was experiencing. But he’d be damned if he was gonna go and ask Chopper for something, no way, he was a man after all, he could deal with it. He was just gonna ride it out and hope that the light remained long enough after he rested.

So the swordsman removed his hand and folded his arms across his chest, shutting his eyes as he did so. Just a short rest and he’d be good to go again.

“Zoro, hey, Zoro.” Or maybe not.

Zoro cracked one eye open and saw round black orbs peering at him from behind the wooden panels across from him. 

“What?” Zoro asked as he shut his eye once more, hoping the captain wouldn’t stay too long, his head truly was killing him.

“Did you finish reading?” 

“No, I lost my focus.” 

“Aww, can’t you do it now?” Luffy questioned, and Zoro gritted his teeth.

“Is there a reason you wanna know so badly?”

“I’m bored, everyone’s doing stuff without me,” Luffy explained, not doubt with that illegally cute pout on his face. And so with that image in Zoro’s mind, he finally caved, as he opened his eyes again and found Luffy now perched on the edge of the nest with that exact expression on his face.

“I doubt I’ll be much fun to hang around with but you’re welcome to sit with me if you want,” Zoro offered, feeling the pain go numb almost instantly as Luffy smiled and nodded eagerly.

Luffy then hopped down and without a moment of hesitation, sat himself down between Zoro’s spread out legs, forcing the first mate to remove his arms and drop them to his sides. He shifted about a few times as he leant his head back against Zoro’s chest, which was pounding at the sudden contact, until he was clearly comfortable, and then he stilled. This wasn’t unusual for Luffy but Zoro could never adjust or see when it was coming.

“Luffy, you know there are other places to sit?” Zoro said as he looked down the younger boy, surprised to see that for once, Luffy’s precious hat was slightly squashed between his own back and the swordsman’s chest. Usually, Luffy kept it on when he sat with or on Zoro, which was a pain sometimes as the straw irritated him when it caught his face or neck, but not today, his hair was exposed now.

“Yeah but they’re not as comfortable,” Luffy responded before reaching behind him and removing his hat, moving it to his lap as if he’d read Zoro’s mind.

“Right.”

An unusual silence passed by as the sun slowly dipped into the horizon, the last of the daylight fading away. Zoro knew that Luffy was capable of having his quiet moments, ones where even he needed to stop and think, but that evening felt different, there was a purpose for his visit, and it wasn’t born from boredom.

“Luffy-”

“You can’t read, can you?” Luffy spoke, his voice so soft as it cut deep inside Zoro.

Zoro had opened his mouth to deny the claim because it would be so easy to, just a few words and he could deflect the truth once more, but nothing came out. Why? Why couldn’t he just lie? It wasn’t so hard and it’s not like it would hurt Luffy and yet, the silence continued to reign over the moment. All Zoro could do was grit his teeth and clench his fist as his lack of response became his answer.

“I know you don’t want anybody to know so I won’t tell them, don’t worry.”

The way that Luffy kept his head straight and his voice so serious made Zoro’s body shake. Was this so his captain could hide the look of disappointment and shame on his face? Was his oath to secrecy for his own sake or the swordsman’s? It was probably the former because how humiliating would it be if anybody found out that your first mate was illiterate? The one person you trusted and relied on above all else didn’t even have a higher intellect than a child.

“I’m sorry,” Zoro eventually managed to choke out, he couldn’t think of anything more to say for allowing himself to disgrace the crew and his captain in such a way.

“You don’t need to be sorry, it doesn’t mean anything,” Luffy replied but still, his face remained ahead and Zoro body shook.

“How can you say that? Of course it means something, it means _everything_ , it means I’m a moron who’s brought shame on this crew and your name,” Zoro argued, and Luffy shook his head.

“I don’t care about my name unless it says I’m king of the pirates.”  
“But nobody will ever truly respect that if the next person they look to on your crew is an idiot like me who can’t even r-”

“Why does it make you an idiot if you can’t?” Shock hit Zoro’s shaking body, halting his every movement and thought. 

“Just because a person can read doesn’t make them smart, I could ask Robin or Nami to tell me or read me something smart and I’d be just as smart from hearing it from them instead of reading it myself,” Luffy continued as Zoro felt his body begin to shake once again, but not out of fear or nerves, this was from the tears that were beginning to form in his wide eyes.

“I always thought that people were smart when they did something with the stuff they knew, not just because they knew it and anyway, I think you’re really smart Zoro, you always get me out of trouble and you never doubt me, you’re the perfect first mate for any captain!” Luffy exclaimed as he drew his little speech to an end.

“You really think so?” Zoro questioned as he tried to keep his tears at bay, he refused to cry like a baby in front of his captain.

Luffy then nodded before he began to fidget in his spot as he turned around, now kneeling in front of Zoro as he grabbed both of his rough hands in his own smooth ones. And there he stayed with a smile on his face, that ever hopeful and genuine smile.

“I think Zoro’s the smartest person in the crew.” 

Tears fell silently down the first mate’s cheeks as he drunk in every word and repeated it a thousand times over in his mind. The more he said it to himself, lighter he felt inside and the faster his heart raced as he stared at the most important thing in his life. He knew he was falling in even deeper, but he didn’t care, Luffy obviously treasured his first mate and that was all he cared about. And so, Zoro smiled.

“Thank you captain, that means more than you can know.”

“I know, it’s because you love me, don’t know?” Luffy responded, still smiling and so Zoro didn’t feel shock or fear over what was said, he felt comforted by the look of pure joy on the ink haired boys face when he said that. Zoro had simply shut his eyes for a moment as he nodded.

“Yeah, I do…guess I’m not as smart as you think I am since I didn’t realise how obvious I’d been,” Zoro said as he freed one of his hands and wiped away his tears, his smile never letting up, even as Luffy frowned and shook his head.

“Nuh uh, I’m the captain and I say you’re the smartest,” Luffy insisted, and Zoro laughed, causing a momentary look of surprise to cross his captain’s face before he smiled again.

“And since I know your secret, can I tell you mine?” Luffy asked, and the swordsman nodded.

He then watched as Luffy looked from side to side, as if there could possibly be anybody up there with them, before he leant in close, his face so close to Zoro’s. He could the heat in his face rising quickly as Luffy stared intensely into his eyes.

“My secret is that I love you too, Zoro, but I think you’ve been too in love with me to notice,” Luffy whispered, his voice the most quiet anybody had ever heard it as Zoro’s eyes went wide.

“So I guess if you love me and I love you then you have to share all your food with me and let me sleep with you whenever I want because even though I’m the captain, you never let me before but now we have this so I can, right?” Luffy questioned, not giving Zoro a moment to think as he tried to let this all settle in his mind.

“Uh sure, whatever you say.”

Even Luffy’s idea of love was one based on pure innocence and Zoro couldn’t say he hated it. It meant nothing would really change between the two, as he’d feared would happen to an uncomfortable extent, no, they would remain the same but with a few little tweaks. It just meant that they could touch and share more freely. There was also Zoro’s quiet suspicion that Luffy had little to no interest in being as physically intimate as most couples, there was no desire like that in Luffy’s eyes, which almost made things all the more appealing to Zoro, there really wouldn’t be any need for too much change. They could just go on as they were with the small bonuses and touches they gained from this step forward.

“Yes!” Luffy cheered before throwing his arms around Zoro, trapping him in a tight embrace as he buried his face in the older boy’s neck, rubbing against it affectionately.

Zoro then returned the embrace and wrapped his own arms around Luffy’s back, pulling him down from his knees so he was resting on his lap. He didn’t imagine the wooden flooring was doing anything good for his captain’s knees. 

“So can I sleep with you? I think you’re much comfier to sleep on,” Luffy asked, and Zoro smiled.

“Sure but I don’t think the hammock will hold us both.”

“It will, I’ve seen Usopp share before and it never broke,” Luffy replied, and when he didn’t elaborate on the who he shared with, Zoro shrugged it off and nodded.

“Alright, I don’t see why not then.”

From that point on, Zoro found that he was pacing himself with his learning as he began to spend more and more time away from the papers and more time doing what he loved most, sleeping and spending time with the crew. Things came to him a lot easier as well when he did practice because more often than not, Luffy sat with him and it eased Zoro’s mind. 

He’d finally found the missing piece to this puzzle.


End file.
